Busing for homeowners

Bank reaches out to those with low income, bad credit.

By JOSEPH DITS

SOUTH BEND -- Melvin Pumphrey Jr. rides his bike up to the blue and red bus marked "Get on Board, Own a Home" and steps quickly inside.

The 51-year-old is two weeks out of prison, eager to correct his financial "checkered past."

It pains him that he knew better but kept doing the wrong things. He kept running into bad credit.

He'd like to know what it will take for him to own a home.

That's exactly why Fifth Third Bank parked its "Homeownership Mobile" for six hours Friday at the Robinson Community Learning Center, 921 N. Eddy St .

It will sit from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at the RiverWalk at 500 N. Main St., Elkhart, then continue its travels.

The bank staff is trying to reach low- and moderate-income people and others whose bad credit stymies them from buying a home, says Cindy Mandicz, retail market manager for south Chicago and northwest Indiana.

Such potential clients live within walking distance of this site on the city's near-northeast side. Pumphrey, one of 20 people who visited the bus, stays nearby in a God Cares Ministry house, where men recover from addictions and prison.

Linda McGinnity of Fifth Third Bank reviews the credit report of Janice Winthrop-Linton, right, with her Friday inside the "Homeownership Mobile" at its stop in South Bend .

Mandicz says the staff entices visitors with mortgage products that don't require down payments and that work with immigrants who don't have Social Security numbers.

Inside the bus, Pumphrey sits at a computer with Mark DeWitte, a mortgage loan originator from a Mishawaka branch.

Just before his credit report pops up on the screen, Pumphrey says, "This is the fearful part."

He needs a score of at least 580 to start qualifying for home loans, but his score is only 559, DeWitte says.

Aside from clearing up the debts, DeWitte says Pumphrey can boost his credit score by borrowing money and paying it off consistently.

"If you can establish some credit and have some history ... History is everything," he says.

"How do I check to be sure I'm progressing?" Pumphrey asks.

"You don't need to check that every month," DeWitte says. "The best thing you can do is see how you can clean these things up."

Pumphrey says he tries to ask such thoughtful questions because, in general, "they won't tell you what you don't ask."

Michael Jarvis exits the bus with an optimistic boost. He scored 730, which could qualify him for a nice home loan.

"It's kind of a scary thing," says the Mishawaka man, pondering his first-ever home. "I don't want to get into something too big."

He's 36, with a solid 17-year career of making concrete pipe. But he's also recovering from a bankruptcy about 10 years ago that grew out of a costly divorce and bills that became too big.

The " Mobile," a 1985 city bus with more than 500,000 miles, was converted and last year began its new life of doing outreach for Fifth Third Bank.

It has stopped off in various states where the bank has branches, from Florida to Michigan .

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